The misuse of “begs the question.”

January 31, 2015 -

To the Editor:

Excellent issue of The Greylock Independent.

Let me mention one of my pet peeves, though: the misuse of “begs the question.” It doesn’t mean “raises the question,” which is what the article should have said. There are many Web references about the grammar involved.

Jay Pasachoff, Williamstown, MA

Editor’s note: The writer is quite right about the proper use of this phrase. For those readers who want more, here is how wikipedia.org and Aristotle weigh in on this point: